![Senator Joseph McCarthy “comes along really chronologically halfway through the story [in the early 1950s], and there’s a lot that happened before he was even on the scene,” says author Clay Risen.](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/ee-zkNhyyeZSehRcxDnYUB-QAj4=/450x300/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/dd/f0/ddf0fc8a-56de-40d6-ae40-efcb46ac804b/gettyimages-515261284.jpg)
Newly Declassified Documents Reveal the Untold Stories of the Red Scare, a Hunt for Communists in Postwar America
In his latest book, journalist and historian Clay Risen explores how the House Un-American Activities Committee and Senator Joseph McCarthy upended the nation
Learn the Secret Histories of These Fascinating CIA Artifacts, From Pigeon Cameras to Cufflink Compasses
With the launch of its new website, the CIA Museum is bringing its sprawling collection of spy artifacts out of the shadows and into the public eye
The Enduring Mystery of the Somerton Man, One of Australia’s Most Puzzling Cold Cases
The discovery of a body on Somerton Beach in 1948 sparked theories that the dead man, now believed to be Carl Webb, was a Soviet spy, a ballet dancer or a jilted lover
Untold Stories of American History
The Spy Who Exposed the Secrets of the Black Chamber, One of America’s First Code-Breaking Organizations
In 1931, Herbert O. Yardley published a tell-all book about his experiences leading a covert government agency called the Cipher Bureau
This Female Civil War Soldier Participated in the Bloodiest Battle in American History and Spied on the South—or Did She?
Historians say that Sarah Emma Edmonds exaggerated many aspects of her wartime experiences. Still, she bravely served in the Union Army, becoming one of hundreds of women who fought in the conflict in secret
A Century Ago, a Mob Brutally Attacked an American Diplomat in Persia. His Death Shaped U.S.-Iran Relations for Decades
The July 1924 killing of Robert Imbrie fueled the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty and set the stage for both a CIA-backed 1953 coup and the 1979 Iran hostage crisis
To Trick the Nazis, This Master of Deception Invented Fake Fleets and Armies
During World War II, British officer Dudley Clarke led A Force, a Cairo-based military unit that fed false information to the Germans
Untold Stories of American History
At the 1960 Olympics, American Athletes Recruited by the CIA Tried to Convince Their Soviet Peers to Defect
Al Cantello, a star of the U.S. track and field team, arranged a covert meeting between a government agent and a Ukrainian long jumper
This Filipina Spy Used Her Leprosy as a Cover to Thwart the Japanese During World War II
Enemy soldiers overlooked Josefina “Joey” Guerrero due to her condition. Later, her heroic actions on behalf of the Allies were largely forgotten
The Real History Behind Apple TV+’s ‘Manhunt’ and the Search for Abraham Lincoln’s Killer
A new series dramatizes Edwin Stanton’s hunt for John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators in the aftermath of the president’s 1865 assassination
Millennia After Leonidas Made His Last Stand at Thermopylae, a Ragtag Band of Saboteurs Thwarted the Axis Powers in the Same Narrow Pass
A new book chronicles the 16-plus battles that took place in the Greek pass between the ancient era and World War II
The Ten Best History Books of 2023
Our favorite titles of the year resurrect forgotten histories and illuminate how the United States ended up where it is today
Secret World War II-Era Tunnels Could Become a London Tourist Attraction
Built as a shelter during the London Blitz, the subterranean network could open as an immersive experience
The Baseball Player-Turned-Spy Who Went Undercover to Assassinate the Nazis’ Top Nuclear Scientist
During World War II, the OSS sent Moe Berg to Europe, where he gathered intel on Germany’s efforts to build an atomic bomb
The American Spy Who Surrendered to the Nazis to Save Civilians
In 1944, Pierre Julien Ortiz parachuted into occupied France, where the Gestapo offered a reward of half a million francs for his capture
Why French Authorities Placed a Young Pablo Picasso Under Surveillance
Police suspected the 19-year-old Spanish expatriate of harboring anarchist views
High-Altitude Balloons Aren’t Just for Spying. Here’s How Scientists Use Them
Students, scientists and hobbyists are beginning to worry for their research as balloons are increasingly shot down
How World War II Helped Forge the Modern FBI
Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, J. Edgar Hoover consolidated immense power—and created the beginnings of the surveillance state
See Inside the Rarely Seen and Newly Reimagined CIA Museum
Off-limits to all but a few in-person visitors, the museum is starting to welcome the public, online at least
Have Scholars Finally Identified the Mysterious Somerton Man?
New DNA analysis suggests a body found on a beach in Australia in 1948 belongs to Carl Webb, an electrical engineer from Melbourne
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